Credit Karma?

[stevensfo]

Anyone know what these people are here for? I subscribed a few years ago as I was interested in learning more about this credit score thingy. However, I receive a constant barrage of emails inviting to check out ways of borrowing, new credit cards etc. They seem to want me to get into debt in order 'to improve my credit score'. After a few scary experiences in my early 20s, I have always tried hard to stay out of debt, and I regard this achievement as the reason why I have an excellent score.

So they want me to borrow more to make the score higher?? Has the world gone mad, or is it me?

Steve

PS Just checked with my wife. It's definitely me.

[csearle]

I have no real knowledge of it but have always imagined that the score effectively reflects your record of settling your debts. If you don't have any (or have never had any) then they can only guess based on whatever else they know about you. So getting a debt and paying it off will help your score, which you might need if you one day do want to take out a loan.

They probably make their money by getting a commision on any debts they facilitate you taking out.

All guesswork on my part. C.

[terminal7]

Just block their domain.

T7

[stevensfo]

Just block their domain.

T7

Well, I've unsubscribed from receiving emails, so we'll see if it works. My junk email folder gets bigger every month!

Re. settling debts, I use a credit card occasionally, keep well within the limit and pay it off asap. I use it simply to keep it from becoming dormant and to benefit from the credit card protection when appropriate.

Steve

[Urbandreamer]

Re. settling debts, I use a credit card occasionally, keep well within the limit and pay it off asap. I use it simply to keep it from becoming dormant and to benefit from the credit card protection when appropriate.

Steve

I borrow and repay 10's of £1k a year. But then petrol and supermarket bills are all "paid" by credit card. The debt being repaid before interest is due by direct debit.

Also, like many, I borrowed the money to buy a house. I didn't manage to repay that debt by the end of the month, unlike my credit card bill.

Debt can be incredibly useful. Avoiding it without thinking is as poor an idea as avoiding anything else, without thinking.

[Dod101]

Just block their domain.

T7

Well, I've unsubscribed from receiving emails, so we'll see if it works. My junk email folder gets bigger every month!

Re. settling debts, I use a credit card occasionally, keep well within the limit and pay it off asap. I use it simply to keep it from becoming dormant and to benefit from the credit card protection when appropriate.

Steve

It is amazing the credit you can get as I have just discovered after I bought fuel oil on 6 October. The invoice gives me 30 days and I usually pay by bank transfer just prior to that but as I was in hospital I decided the easiest way was to pay by credit card as it is set to automatically pay off the debt when due. Only today have a I finally paid so that is 2 months credit and some cash back on my credit card. Maybe I should do this more often.

Urbandreamer may well be right.

Dod

[stevensfo]

Re. settling debts, I use a credit card occasionally, keep well within the limit and pay it off asap. I use it simply to keep it from becoming dormant and to benefit from the credit card protection when appropriate.

Steve

I borrow and repay 10's of £1k a year. But then petrol and supermarket bills are all "paid" by credit card. The debt being repaid before interest is due by direct debit.

Also, like many, I borrowed the money to buy a house. I didn't manage to repay that debt by the end of the month, unlike my credit card bill.

Debt can be incredibly useful. Avoiding it without thinking is as poor an idea as avoiding anything else, without thinking.

Yes, I know that it can be useful. We obtained a huge mortgage and fortunately, were able to pay it off well before there was any hint of interest rate increases. I understand the advantages of using credit cards and how useful they can be when used carefully. But apart from the cc protection for some purchases, we don't really need the other advantages. I prefer to pay for most things asap.

Of course, if savings rates go up a bit more or even stay level, I may rethink this policy.

Steve

[kempiejon]

Anyone know what these people are here for? I subscribed a few years ago as I was interested in learning more about this credit score thingy. However, I receive a constant barrage of emails inviting to check out ways of borrowing, new credit cards etc. They seem to want me to get into debt in order 'to improve my credit score'. After a few scary experiences in my early 20s, I have always tried hard to stay out of debt, and I regard this achievement as the reason why I have an excellent score.

So they want me to borrow more to make the score higher?? Has the world gone mad, or is it me?

I think your final statement is about right. In the heydays of stoozing by regularly applying for additional credit cards I was able to increase my total available credit from a couple of £k to several £10ks. My income and expenditure was fairly steady, certainly not suggesting a 20 fold increase in my ability to pay so I expect it was getting credit and servicing it that meant I could get even more. I do notice my Karma score fluctuates by fairly small amounts if I clear balances or take out new cards.

[mc2fool]

Anyone know what these people are here for? I subscribed a few years ago as I was interested in learning more about this credit score thingy.

There are three major credit ratings agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they are obliged to let you see their credit report (not just score) for you, but they aren't obliged to do so for free.

However, there are some services that will let you access credit reports for free, but at the "cost" of you putting up with them trying to flog you third party products. The two main ones are Credit Karma, which lets you access the TransUnion data on you, and ClearScore which does so for the Equifax data.

Both are themselves credit brokers and, as it says at the bottom of each of their website, they'll get a commission if you take out a product through them.

Both let you choose what emails you get from them, so check out the settings for your account, and learn to ignore the advertising on their websites ...

[chas49]

Anyone know what these people are here for? I subscribed a few years ago as I was interested in learning more about this credit score thingy.

There are three major credit ratings agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they are obliged to let you see their credit report (not just score) for you, but they aren't obliged to do so for free.

However, there are some services that will let you access credit reports for free, but at the "cost" of you putting up with them trying to flog you third party products. The two main ones are Credit Karma, which lets you access the TransUnion data on you, and ClearScore which does so for the Equifax data.

Both are themselves credit brokers and, as it says at the bottom of each of their website, they'll get a commission if you take out a product through them.

Both let you choose what emails you get from them, so check out the settings for your account, and learn to ignore the advertising on their websites ...

If you want to access your credit report for free without selling your soul(!) to Credit Karma or Clearscore, you can sign up to the MoneysavingExpert Credit Club. This used to give you free access to Experian but that's just ending, and from January (I think) it will be Transunion. They don't try and sell you anything (at least they haven't so far)

[mc2fool]

There are three major credit ratings agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they are obliged to let you see their credit report (not just score) for you, but they aren't obliged to do so for free.

However, there are some services that will let you access credit reports for free, but at the "cost" of you putting up with them trying to flog you third party products. The two main ones are Credit Karma, which lets you access the TransUnion data on you, and ClearScore which does so for the Equifax data.

Both are themselves credit brokers and, as it says at the bottom of each of their website, they'll get a commission if you take out a product through them.

Both let you choose what emails you get from them, so check out the settings for your account, and learn to ignore the advertising on their websites ...

If you want to access your credit report for free without selling your soul(!) to Credit Karma or Clearscore, you can sign up to the MoneysavingExpert Credit Club. This used to give you free access to Experian but that's just ending, and from January (I think) it will be Transunion. They don't try and sell you anything (at least they haven't so far)

Yeah but Experian has problems when your address according to the electoral roll doesn't exactly match the one you've supplied, and the MoneysavingExpert Credit Club (when I tried it at least), didn't let you enter your address but rather forced you to just select from a list generated from your postcode, so it doesn't want to ID me. (Equifax and TransUnion have no problem with the word "Flat" being/not being at the front of my address )

[BBLSP1]

There are three major credit ratings agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they are obliged to let you see their credit report (not just score) for you, but they aren't obliged to do so for free.

How are they able to access your financial information to allocate a credit score? I thought that such information was protected data?

[Urbandreamer]

There are three major credit ratings agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they are obliged to let you see their credit report (not just score) for you, but they aren't obliged to do so for free.

How are they able to access your financial information to allocate a credit score? I thought that such information was protected data?

Err, no you have things wrong.

Equifax, give a bit of history about credit and credit reporting here.
https://assets.equifax.com/assets/usis/ ... istory.pdf

Of note is that recorded credit ratings starts out with retailers (well tailors) compiling a list of good and bad clients.

The same link shows just how long we actually KNOW for certain that credit has existed.

Now that isn't the same as saying that everyone HAS to have a valid credit rating. If you NEVER use a bank account to pay for anything, instead using cash or some other means, then you don't use your own credit. Unless you wind up with a CCJ, then you may not have a file. Indeed many may have a very thin file if they only use a debit card and direct debits.

A thin file is a problem if you want to borrow a few £100,000 for example to buy a house.

Oh, BTW, if you do have or use cash have a look at a note, AKA bank note. It clearly says that it is a promise to pay. It's CREDIT. It's just that you are not the one making that promise.

[chas49]

Yeah but Experian has problems when your address according to the electoral roll doesn't exactly match the one you've supplied, and the MoneysavingExpert Credit Club (when I tried it at least), didn't let you enter your address but rather forced you to just select from a list generated from your postcode, so it doesn't want to ID me. (Equifax and TransUnion have no problem with the word "Flat" being/not being at the front of my address )

Hopefully MSE won't have that problem when they switch to Transunion then!

[Gerry557]

Yes they show you your credit score and what credit is on record. You can challenge if there is a mistake but you might not know without the report.

I suppose they are looking for good payers and earn a commission if you sign up with them. They also help you to improve your score. This might be useful for some.

In my case I'm informed to keep my credit card under 25% of the limit. It also recommended I increase my credit limit. It's counter intuitive to me as a smaller limit must have less risk. Does it matter if you take your card to the limit but pay it off in full? Apparently it must.

I will up my limit next time I'm offered if it helps. I also do take out some credit usually a zero interest on something I might pay in cash. A sofa can ofter be taken over years to keep some good on your report, assuming you pay it back.

[elephanthunt11]

Credit Karma is a pretty decent app for credit scoring. They use TransUnion as their credit referencing agency.

If you’ve got ClearScore (equifax) Experian, and Credit Karma you should get a pretty good broad scale picture of your credit profile across the three UK agencies.

Just unsubscribe from their marketing. They need to make money somehow.

[Itsallaguess]

‎
The whole 'credit score industry' thing continues to amaze me, and this snippet from Steve's OP just about sums up my cynicism -

I subscribed [to Credit Karma] a few years ago as I was interested in learning more about this credit score thingy.

However, I receive a constant barrage of emails inviting to check out ways of borrowing, new credit cards etc. They seem to want me to get into debt in order 'to improve my credit score'.

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=41627

It's always felt to me that allowing direct, industry-level interfaces between people who are actively concerned with their 'credit score' and *actual* credit-providers themselves is like inviting drug-pushers in to provide recovery-sessions in Rehab, or a farmer contracting the local foxes to review and report back on his hen-house security...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess